University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley’s struggle to alleviate campus binge-drinking received aid today in the form of a grant awarded to the project PACE: Reducing the Consequences of High-Risk Drinking.
The $468,000 grant will be used by PACE to address the issues surrounding binge-drinking or high-risk drinking on the UW campus.
PACE’s initiatives have been criticized by local tavern owners and students.
Formerly known as the RWJ Project, named after the Robert Wood Johnson foundation that funded it, the new title dispels confusion about the relationship between the foundation and the project. It also reflects the four main aspects of PACE’s mission: policy, alternatives, community and education.
PACE is part of the A Matter of Degree grant site, which includes 10 other universities funded by the RWJ foundation to fight campus drinking.
Don Zeigler, deputy director of A Matter of Degree at the American Medical Association, said the organization was “delighted” to fund PACE for another four years.
PACE’s project director, Susan Crowley, outlined the plans PACE will implement in the coming school year.
PACE has been a continuing voice in the debate over drink specials by gathering extensive data on the subject, Crowley said.
“We’ve worked hard to pull together information on how drink specials correlate with binge-drinking,” she said.
In the future, PACE will continue to support the ban on drink specials.
Parental notification for certain drinking-related violations will also be discussed.
“We need to carefully consider whether parental notification would curb drinking,” Crowley said. “Maybe there is some place for parents in the alcohol debate where they can positively influence their children’s drinking.”
Another item on the agenda is to warn students of the dangers of house parties.
“We want students to be able to go to parties — we understand it’s relaxing and a needed release at times,” said Crowley.
Finally, PACE wants to send a clear message about drinking and expectations the administration has of students.
“We need to send consistent messages about the consequences of drinking and the personal responsibility of the student no matter what the circumstances,” Crowley said.
Zeigler said he thinks the university’s reputation as a party school affects student mindsets about acceptable behavior.
“Often students party because it’s expected of them. The university wants to establish better expectations of student conduct,” he said.
Zeigler said the group is also concerned with the second-hand effects of drinking, such as trash, noise and general disturbances caused by house parties. In addition to these inconveniences, he cited the large number of drinking-related deaths, date rapes and assaults that happen to college students each year.
“We need to get rid of this environment that fosters extreme drinking,” Zeigler said. “However, that’s not an easy thing in Wisconsin — drinking is deeply ingrained in the minds of the population.”
Crowley said she feels PACE’s combination of strategies will help promote long-term change by addressing the viewpoints of students, the institution and the community.
“We need to change the way students perceive and react to alcohol in their environment,” she said.
